The term "one-time use camera" is used herein to refer to cameras that are provided to consumers in preloaded form and cannot be reloaded, by the consumer, without extensive camera disassembly, or replacement of parts, or use of special tools, or the like. One-time use film cameras are widely available at this time. Digital one-time use cameras are limited at this time, for cost reasons, to use in controlled situations in which it can be assured that the used camera will be returned to the dealer or manufacturer for reloading.
It is ordinarily the object of photography to make printed or displayed images that reproduce a visual image. Images are sometimes modified for creative purposes, either at the time of capture using a modified optical system; or after capture by digital or physical manipulation of the captured image. The use of filters and other optical modifiers is well known, but it requires considerable skill to produce a desired effect. Digital image modification software is widely available that allows a user to modify a digital image. An example of such software is marketed as Kai Power Goo by MetaCreations Corporation of Carpinteria, Calif. The digital image modification software can modify digital images, by causing aberration or remapping colors or both, globally or locally as desired. Local areas and specific modifications are identified during editing. Such image modification software requires the use of a computer, some level of knowledge on the part of the user, and some means of both inputting a digital image and outputting the modified image in print media or other form. It is generally very easy, with such software, to either make a minor change or to work a very great alteration that turns a realistic photograph into a work of abstract art. It is generally much more difficult to obtain a controlled result. Thus, in view of this and the costs involved, digital image transmogrification is not suitable for a great many casual photographers. Digital image modification software also presents the problem that the image editing is completely separate from image capture. If a user wants to capture images appropriate for a particular transmogrification, then the user must mentally visualize the modified image while shooting the picture.
A variety of photographic film systems have been described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,650,304; 4,583,831; 5,059,993; 5,619,738; and 5,132,715, in which images are automatically zoomed to a greater magnification or cropped (use of only part of the image) or both during processing, based on a predetermined or selected encodement. (The term "processing" used herein, refers to the preparation of prints or other viewable images and is inclusive of printing, unless the context indicates otherwise.) In the Advanced Photo System.TM. (APS.TM.), latent images are captured in a standard format (also referred to as "H" format) and are printed in that format or are printed in one of two other formats (referred to as "C" and "P"), depending upon a magnetic or optical encodement on the film.
Cameras commonly have viewfinder masks or markings to indicate to the user the dimensions of the selected photograph. Viewfinders and viewfinder components which aid in capturing non-standard images are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,583,831; 4,650,304; 5,587,755; 5,619,737; 5,619,738; and U.S. Reissue Pat. No. 32,797. Such masks are fixed for single mode one-time use cameras, which have external indicia indicating the particular mode. The masks are movable between different masking positions for multiple mode reusable and one-time use cameras. The cameras have indicia to inform the user of a selected mode.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,758,216 discloses photography systems, film packages, and cameras in which a one-time use camera or film package bears external indicia of a special promotion and the enclosed film has a corresponding magnetic encodement. Disclosed special promotions include photomontages (composite images) with pre-exposed or digitally superimposed cartoon characters and other symbols, super saturated color processing and enhanced size prints. The viewfinder of the one-time use camera can be modified to indicate the position of the cartoon character or the like in the photomontaged final prints. An overlay can be provided to temporarily modify the viewfinder of a reusable camera. The composited images of U.S. Pat. No. 5,758,216 discard part of the field of view of the camera (by masking or digital manipulation) and replace the discarded part with a predetermined image component. The non-replaced part of the resulting image is orthoscopic, that is, carries the same information as the original light image, within the limits of the imaging system.
The zoomed and cropped and composite final images just described are realistic, that is, within the quality tolerances of the equipment used, the final images do not markedly differ from visible images reflected or transmitted from the subject matter photographed. In the case of composite images, two photographic exposures are physically combined by masking the second exposure or the same effect is produced digitally, but both images are realistic prior to photomontage (or in the case of a digital component would be realistic if viewed from a display or printout). The resulting final images are realistic. Part of the original image is discarded either by masking part of the image during capture or physically or digitally removing part of the image during processing. Masking can be provided by a translucent feature such that two superimposed features appear in the final image. These types of image modification that zoom, crop, rotate, or photomontage, or do some combination of these, but do not otherwise alter the non-discarded image information; are referred to herein as "orthoscopic modifications". (Image reduction rather than enlargement is uncommonly used, but is also within the scope of "orthoscopic modification". In this case, the discarded information is uniformly distributed over the image within the limits of film grain, printer resolution, and the like.) Other modifications that alter non-discarded image information, such as image aberration and color remapping, are categorized herein as "non-orthoscopic modifications".
U.S. Pat. No. 5,726,737 discloses photography systems, film packages, and cameras in which a one-time use camera or film package bears external indicia of a preferential subject matter; such as action shots, scenic shots, and close-ups; and the enclosed film has a corresponding magnetic encodement. U.S. Pat. No. 5,758,216 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,726,737 disclose non-orthoscopic image modification of the entire image to provide for super saturated prints and preferential subject matter respectively. U.S. Pat. No. 5,461,440 discloses non-orthoscopic image modification that uses an encodement on film and corrects for particular image quality degradations.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,204 discloses use of an encodement to provide changes in aspect ratio and indicates that encodements might permit enhancement of image quality beyond negative quality to compensate for film or camera based limitations, artifacts, or errors. Examples of enhancements are noise suppression, sharpness enhancement, and tone scale modification.
It would thus be desirable to provide cameras which have an easy and convenient way for a user, prior to image capture, to select one of a plurality of ways to partition a picture for image modification and compose the picture based on that partition.